


Freedom Fighters

by Lionwings



Category: Free!
Genre: And I swear I'll actually finish this story!, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I'll warn you though, It all depends on how I'm feeling, It may get just a teensy tiny bit dark, It's a foolproof plan!, It's almost certain, M/M, More warnings will be added as the story is written, Mutual Pining, Or really dark, Possible overdose of gay, Superhero!AU, Up and Away we go, Warning: Author does not know how to tag well, What the hell do I mean "possible?"
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 02:16:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8038300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lionwings/pseuds/Lionwings
Summary: Iwatobi is a strange city, where the small old town meets a bustling metropolis and twenty years back, superheroes weren't all that strange a sight. Years later, after the superheroes have all either left or died in the battle to save the city, strange occurrences start happening around town and new heroes begin to rise.





	Freedom Fighters

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. I'm sorry that I'm starting a new story when I already have one that I haven't updated for about a year! I can promise this much though, I can actually finish this. I've had this idea for awhile now and have had it in planning for years, but during my last semester of college, I used the idea for a screenplay project and wrote about 110 pages for it. 
> 
> I'm currently revamping it so that it fits in story format, so please be patient with me. I also have a somewhat steady job and don't have to work nights during the week, so I should have more than enough time to write! Hooray!
> 
> So, with that being said, please enjoy the ride and get ready for some gay ass things to happen!

The Iwatobi shore line was bathed in golden orange as the sun set over the ocean. Shadows crept along the coast and crawled from their hiding places, fleeing from the sun’s rays. A road of asphalt, abandoned and in a state of terrible disrepair lead from the shoreline into the city proper. The sandy beaches and sweeping grasslands were eerily quiet in the twilight, but were filled with swirling colors and leaves dancing in the light breeze of the summer air.

The small asphalt road, though abandoned and seeming more and more treacherous as the sky began to darken was well worn and well-traveled in its old age, seeming to have almost always been a part of the sweeping landscape of the Oceanside. 

A couple, two boys not seeming older than twenty, walked along the road towards the ocean and the setting sun. Their shadows creeping farther and farther away from them, lengthening and stretching as if trying to separate themselves from their owners. The almost silent tapping of the two boy’s shoes against the pavement was only slightly louder than the soothing cooing of the wind and the whisper of the waves against the shore. The boys themselves were completely silent, almost reverent of the elements around them as they continued down the pathway.

The one boy, slightly taller than the other with kind eyes and a calming smile, would gaze at his companion every once in a while, unbeknownst to his friend. Then he would shift his gaze back to the ocean, their destination mesmerizing him with its enticing scent and sights. 

The shorter boy wouldn’t remove his gaze from the waves in front of them. His deep dark eyes never once leaving the sight in front of them. 

Neither spoke as they eventually made it to their destination and as they sat atop the soft golden sand in front of the ocean. They leaned back into the sand, putting their hands behind them in order to keep them upright and keep their eyes on the horizon. Their hands, the shorter boy’s right and the taller boy’s left, almost touching, pinkie fingers almost grazing, didn’t move as the unquiet silence of nature wrapped them up like a protective blanket.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. The setting of the sun slowing into infinity and what seemed like time stopping almost completely. The only indication of the steady flow of time was the wind rustling the sand and the grass chattering to itself.

Until the quietness was broken.

“Haru.”

The shorter boy turned and looked at his friend, eyes questioning and expression odd.

“I’m surprised you aren’t in the water yet.”

Haru turns his head and looks back at the ocean, almost longingly.

“It’s too cold to swim.”

His only answer was the small chuckle that bubbled from his friend’s mouth. He refused to look, just on principle. 

“We could always just stand in the surf. It might be cold, but we can put on our shoes for our walk home.”

Haru’s eyes widened and he immediately started taking off his shoes and sock, ignoring the full on laugh that started behind him.

He knew his friend would be right behind him as he walked towards the edge of the surf. The sea foam ticked his feet as he stepped into the surf and the cold water stinging his feet slightly. Haru could hear his friend gasp slightly as his feet hit the water. A smirk was the only reply.

“Haru! How can you enjoy the water when it’s this cold?” The taller boy whined as he walked closer to Haru.

“Accept the water Makoto. Then maybe it won’t be so cold.”

“That’s such a Haru answer.”

When Makoto stood next to him, Haru had the urge to grab his hand and intertwine their fingers. The sight in front of him was worthy of that sort of romantic gesture of course. He resisted the urge, however, and made due with the knowledge that his oldest friend was there with him, facing his fears.

Haru could feel a strange tug in his stomach at the thought, and subtly move away from Makoto a little, trying to put a little distance from those kinds of thoughts. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A second later he could hear the taller boy gasp and opened his eyes to see a small rogue wave coming towards them and splashing them.

Haru looked over to see Makoto look scandalized at his wetness and couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped his lips. Though Makoto wasn’t very wet, only the bottom of his shorts getting slightly grazed with the ocean water, he looked as though someone just slapped his grandmother, a little shocked and slightly scandalized. Though, as soon as he heard Haru laugh, he turned and stared at him with a look of wonderment and surprise. 

Haru stopped laughing after a few seconds, holding his stomach lightly. 

“Haru…”

“Makoto, let’s sit down.”

Makoto blinked in surprise at Haru’s voice and nodded his consent. The left the surf and sat back down on the sand. The sun was almost below the horizon and the shadows started getting even longer. The two twenty year olds sat the same way as they did before, pinky fingers almost grazing as they stare at the setting sun. The surf seemed to have a mind of its own as it rose towards the two boys without the notice of either. The shadows slithering around them as if they were moving of their own accord.

The boys did nothing but stare at the sun until it eventually melted away into the horizon and the moon and stars started making their appearance. Neither moved immediately, taking their time before Makoto disturbed the stillness of the night around them. He stood up, struggling a little against the sand, before he turned towards Haru and held out his hand with a soft smile.

“Time to go, Haru,” he said with his eyes closed and head tilted.

Haru closed his eyes and grabbed ahold of his friend’s hand. The feeling of the larger hand encasing his own and the warmth seeping from Makoto’s skin made his head swirl and his heart thump. When he was on his feet, he turned his head away in a silent pout.

“Thank you, Makoto.”

“No problem, Haru.”

Their walk back was very similar to their walk to the ocean. The only difference being the darkness around them and the moon drifting lazily into the sky. Makoto chattered quietly and Haru let the sound of Makoto’s voice drift over him like the summer breeze. The shadows wriggled in the shadow of the moon and small puddles of water rippled almost unnaturally in the stillness of the night. 

The city was a, not-so-far, cacophony of light and noise and Haru immediately tensed as it came into view and wrecked any sort of peace that the ocean may have brought. Makoto noticed quickly and bumped their shoulders comfortingly as they started walking into the city and eventually joined up with the crowds of people on the sidewalks. 

The small city of Iwatobi had experienced a large amount of growth in the time from when it started. It started as a small fishing town where only the heartiest and saltiest fishermen would live, waking up early each day and going out until the sun set each night. Sometime after, people started making note of the small town with its beautiful scenery and quaint little shops. And with each generation, the population grew and grew until the little town turned into a bustling metropolis, divided into two major areas: the large bustling city, with its large skyscrapers, bright lights and roaring sounds and the town with its picturesque views, quaint shops and quiet demeanor. 

Makoto and Haru, dodged their way through the heavily populated sidewalks. The other people all in their own little world and completely ignoring the two boys who weaved their way towards the town.

They quickly made their way through the crowds and arrived at the small train station that would take them back to the town. The train station, usually packed, was surprisingly quiet and unpopulated. The train was much the same and the two took their normal seats, Makoto still filled in the silence between them with his normal chatter and Haru didn’t respond with anything more than shrugs, grunts, and the occasional eyebrow raise. 

The train moved quickly through the city and the view outside the windows slowly made its change from the sight of skyscrapers and office buildings to the antiquated view of traditional Japanese houses and small family-owned shops.

“Last stop, Iwatobi proper station. Please exit on the right side and have a nice day!” The voice over the train loudspeaker announced in a pre-recorded and far too happy tone.

Makoto smiled down at Haru as they stood up and moved out of the door with the few other people in the train car. The two in their own little world as they walked out of the train station and back through the familiar set of stairs that lead to their houses.

Their footsteps were the only sounds as they tapped their way up the stone steps and towards their houses. The familiar white cat made an appearance and meowed at them before quickly moving on its way, making Makoto coo quietly and Haru smirk at his friend. It didn’t take them much longer before they reached the point where their paths split and each had to head home.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Haru!” Makoto announced as he squeezed his friend’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t be late,” was Haru’s quiet answer as he turned and made his way back to his house.

“I won’t be! I promise!”

Haru was glad that the darkness hid his blush as he heard his overenthusiastic friend make his way back to his house. Haru continued to the dark house at the top of the hill and stopped for a moment at the front door with a sigh. He quickly unlocked his door and made his way to the kitchen. After preparing and eating a small dinner of his favorite food, he put his dishes in the sink and started filling the sink with hot water and dish soap.

He let the water sit for a moment, dreading the heated sting of water as he dipped his fingertips in. Haru was surprised that he water wasn’t too hot, even though he could see the steam rising from the top. He shrugged and started fervently scrubbing his dishes and putting them in the small strainer next to the sink. His mind wandered as he completed the mundane task, thinking about what he was supposed to do the next day and about when he can swim next, not noticing the water swirling around his hands and rising from the sink whenever he pulls out a dish to dry. 

When the dishes were done, he pulled out his hands to dry them on a towel, only to notice that his hands are completely dry.

“Well, that’s weird,” he mumbled to himself, staring at his hands and noticing the lack of pruning on his fingers and the alabaster color despite the obvious heat of the water.

He put his hands back in experimentally to test the water and gasps when the water parts around his hands. He pulled his hands out quickly, only to have the water follow them up in a tendril that reached towards his fingers.

Haru’s eyes widened in fear and he pulled back completely from the water, the tendril quickly falling back into the sink.

“What the hell? What the hell!” Haru whispered furiously before starting to calm himself down.

“Stop Haru,” he rationalized. “You’re really tired. It’s been a long day. Just go sit down and calm the hell down. Obviously you’re hallucinating.”

He breathed in and out a few times, trying to lower his heart rate a little before he skirted around the sink to grab a bottle of water from the small refrigerator. He quickly made his way to the living room and plopped down on the small couch with a sigh. He picked up the remote to his small, but apparently necessary according to Makoto, television and turned it on to the news station, where a short red-haired reporter sat behind a desk with a small stack of papers and a professional expression on his face.

”Well it seems that there have been many strange occurrences around the city today,” the reporter informed. “Cases of phenomena that can only be defined as super in nature have been appearing at an alarming rate. Sighting of these so called superpowers have been reported and we’re still trying to figure out what the cause may be. Today, we’ve reached out to our friend at the local university, Professor Sugawara. Good evening professor!”

The screen split and a man in a white lab coat with silvery-blond hair and a calming expression that reminded Haru of Makoto’s appeared. He held a small clipboard and looked up at the screen with his deep brown eyes.

“Good evening, Shouyo.”

“So, Professor, what can you tell us about these so called superpowers?”

The Professor scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.

“Well, we’re not completely sure of what might have happened. It seems as though certain types of people are being affected by some sort of chemical that was introduced to our water systems. We’ve been trying to figure out what exactly the chemical might be, but for the moment, we’re still doing studies.”  
Shouyo nodded. “So what would you advise of people who seem to be developing these powers?”

“Well, at the moment, we’re asking that anyone who seems to be developing these powers report to city hall. The local government wants to ensure the safety of the public, and the safety of the people affected by the chemicals. We’re hoping that, by registering these people, we’ll help to keep the situation under control.”

“So, how many people do you think will be affected by the chemicals?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem to be many based on the tests that we have done so far,” the professor stated. “It seems like less than half a percent of the total city population may have been affected. So the amount of people affected should be fairly small.”

“Do you think that these cases have anything to do with the same sort of outbreak as the one that happened around twenty years ago?” Shouyo asked.

“It is extremely likely that these cases are related, but like I said, we are still doing tests.”

“Well, that is all of the time we have. Thank you for your input Professor!”  
“It’s no problem Shouyo!”

The screen went back to the reporter whose expression went back to the professional one he was wearing when he first announced the story.

“So, just to recap, anyone and everyone who seems to be experiencing these so called ‘powers’ are to go to city hall for registration. Now please have a good night Iwatobi!”

The reported smiled at the camera as the news station changed into an annoying commercial that Haru quickly turned off. Without the television the room was almost pitch black and Haru turned his head to look at the doorway to the kitchen.

He got up and made his way over to the still full sink. He stared at the water for a minute before waving his hand above the water and watching the water beneath it swirling around. He took a deep breath as he raised his hand above the water and watched, mesmerized, as the water reached up towards his hand like a flower growing towards the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> So... that happened. And yes, I know I made Haru into a waterbender, but honestly? Would any other power be right for him? Sue me. Also, if you think that they're gay and in love now, just wait. It get worse/better. So comment below!
> 
> Make sure to tune in next time for the next exciting installment of "FREEDOM FIGHTERS!"


End file.
